A Quiet Evening
by NefariaBlack
Summary: A little slice of life during Goblet of Fire, featuring Hagrid, Madame Maxime and cups of hot chocolate.


**A Quiet Evening**

Hagrid adjusted his bow tie for the hundredth time, worried that it was still crooked despite his best efforts. He had tried to tame his beard, and it now sat split at the middle, half to each side of the mustard yellow bow tie, looking tiny on him.

He looked ridiculous, he thought, but one was supposed to look one's best for a lady, and Hagrid really wanted to impress Madame Maxime. He had thought about wearing a pink bow tie, to match his umbrella, but he wouldn't be carrying it around inside his own house. He tugged his clothes once more, adjusting his ill-fitting long coat.

Fang barked beyond the door, and Hagrid heard Olympe's slightly droll accent shush the dog. He opened the door, ducking just to be on the safe side and greeted the tallest witch he had ever met, looking only slightly up to her and not minding it one bit.

"Welcome to my-huh… my humble hut, I mean house, Madame Maxime," he said, smiling amidst his beard and trying to conceal his nervousness, "just be careful of your head."

"Merci, Hagrid, may I call you that? Oh, and it's Olympe _pour moi_."

He was too busy trying not to trip over his own feet to answer, standing to the side to let her inside first. When Fang moved to get inside too, he told him to sit down and watch the grounds. He went inside and stared a little at Olympe, forgetting to offer her a seat by the fire for a moment. She was wearing pink robes, not bright pink but old rose, and Hagrid resented his choice of bow tie. He pulled a large chair closer to the fire and offered it to her.

Olympe scrunched her nose, as if something smelled badly, looking from side to side, trying to discern its origin. Hagrid panicked. He had forgotten to move the hawthorn branches outside.

"Oh, so sorry. I'm a fool, Madame-huh… Olympe, I had to cut some branches of that hawthorn, you see," he explained, pointing to the tree that could be seen out the window, "for Olivander's wands." He quickly gathered the pile of branches on his arms, regretting it immediately, for the smell would now cling to him, and carried them outside.

"Fang! Get back here!"

The bloodhound had wasted no time in getting inside through the door he had left ajar.

"It's quite alright, Hagrid," came Olympe's voice from the hearth, "your dog seems to know how to behave."

Indeed, Fang was sat by the fire, looking at Olympe, seeming to approve of her. With a nod from his owner, he lay down and started munching away at an ox bone. That reminded Hagrid of what he had planned to offer his guest.

"I was going to make hot chocolate just now, would you like some?"

She nodded, and Hagrid carried on to the fire, setting a pot over the flames and pouring whole milk from a bottle to warm it. He always felt clumsy when cooking, everything was too small for his hands, but he did not feel awkward at all around Olympe. While the milk got a little warmer, he mixed dark chocolate with a little sugar and a hint of powdered cocoa, watching it melt and getting rid of any lumps, then pouring it over the milk and whisking it for a moment. He left it to simmer and set about gathering cups and dishes, opening a tin of cakes and setting it before Olympe.

"So, Hagrid," she started, seeming to enjoy the sound of his name, "I understand Dumbledore is a sort of benefactor where you're concerned…"

"Oh, Dumbledore's a great man, he really is. Always looked out for me," he moved back to the fire, to whisk the hot chocolate again, then left it to brew, "I was always a misfit growing up. I was too big, too clumsy, not clever enough to see through people's words… everyone knew I was half-giant, and almost everyone picked on me."

He felt his mind be washed away by a wave of memories from his childhood, from his few years at Hogwarts as a student. He was overwhelmed by it all, it still hurt that he had been deprived of his education, that his wand had been broken because of false accusations. Somehow, after all these years, he could still be sad over it.

Hagrid got the chocolate off the flames and poured two large cups. He dropped a grain of salt into each cup, a hint of scotch, and served them with a dollop of whip cream on top. He would go for bowls on a normal day, but this meal was special. He offered Olympe her cup with both hands, telling her to be careful not to burn her hands.

"Thank you very much," she said, with her quirky accent, "hmm, _tellement bon_."

She smiled over the cup, licking a bit of whip cream off her upper lip. Hagrid's face lit up at her obvious contentment, and he forgot to wipe his own mouth, which made Olympe chuckle at the sight of his moustache covered in the foamy white substance. He sat on a stool on the other side of the fire, which crackled happily in the evening.

"So Headmaster Dumbledore took care of your life here?" She asked, reaching for a cake and taking a bite off of his renowned rock hard pastries with ease.

"Yes, he made sure I could make a living as a gamekeeper here. The world outside Hogwarts never took kindly to my existence, even when I was a little boy, but Dumbledore built a life for me, despite my problems with the Ministry. When I was a student, all I had to do was ask and he would help me out."

"Did you get everything you asked for?" She seemed genuinely interested in his years as a young boy, and he wondered if he should be asking her questions about her childhood as well. But she wasn't very forthcoming about it, and he really didn't want to make her leave any sooner. He was hoping to prolong their quiet evening, maybe even turn it into dinner just for the two of them.

"Well, not everything of course," he laughed, thinking of all the times he had gone to Dumbledore to try and get another creature on the grounds only to be denied because they were dangerous, "but he made sure I wasn't bothered by the other teachers, or by the students. Nobody tells me what to do, or where to go. I just do my job and he watches my back."

She failed to answer him. She had her eyes closed, enjoying her warm drink. He liked it. He liked being quiet around her, it didn't feel awkward at all. So they finished their cups of chocolate, and Hagrid filled them both again, despite her protests that it was far too much for her figure to handle.

They sat by the fire a little longer; listening to the fire and to Fang's snoring, sipping from their cups. Olympe asked questions about him every now and then, sometimes he did too, but they always fell back to being silent and it wasn't a bad thing at all.

Hagrid needed only gather up his nerve and ask her to the Yule Ball now.

* * *

 _Author's Notes: Just a teeny tiny one shot. More of a slice of life moment, really. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated._

 _Prompts and Challenges_

 _Assignment 10 Careers Advice Task #1 - Bar Work & Catering: Write about preparing a meal or drink for another person._

 _December Writing Club – Character Appreciation 8. [Character] Madame Olympe Maxime (Bonus because Hagrid); Disney Challenge Songs Our Guest - Write about a character welcoming someone into their home; Cookie's Cooking Corner 8. Roses: Dialogue - "Thank you very much"; Book Club Liza Hempstock: (emotion) sad, (plant) hawthorn, (dialogue) "Nobody tells me what to do, or where to go."; Showtime 10. Today 4 U: (word) benefactor; Amber's Attic Rappers 2. Write about someone struggling at a young age.; Count your Buttons Objects 1. Hot Chocolate, Dialogues 4. "Did you get everything you asked for?"; Em's Emporium 6. (event) mealtime; Lo's Lowdown Character 8. Grog: character: Hagrid_

 _Winter Funfair – Eastern: Christmas Market 22. Framed Watercolour Print - (object) Bow Tie; Southern: The Nice List 11. Emma - Write about someone enjoying a meal; Northern: Building a Snowman Googly Eyes: (color) pink_

 _365 Prompts Challenge 60. Colour – Mustard_

 _Word count – 1 231_


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